Toyota C-HR on sale from £20,995

Order books for the Toyota C-HR have opened, with the new mid-size crossover appearing in UK dealerships from January 2017. Priced from £20,995, the C-HR is being pitched as a rival to the Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Yeti and Renault Kadjar, although its coupé-like roofline and bold styling make it a fairly unique proposition in the market.

First unveiled in production form at the Geneva motor show in March 2016, the C-HR was revealed as a concept in 2014. The production model gets a coupé-like build due to the designers’ determination to create something that stands out in the Toyota range. The C-HR will sit below the current RAV4 in the model line-up, but is also 20cm longer than a Nissan Juke, placing it as a rival to the Qashqai.

Its exterior design features angular lines and large wheel arches. To the front, headlight clusters wrap around the car giving a feeling of width, adding the low body stance of a coupé while featuring the raised ground clearance of an SUV. The clusters also incorporate full LED lighting and sequential turn signals.

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Rear door handles have been disguised by their integration into the C-pillar, which flows into the rear spoiler design, adding to its coupé feel.

Based on the Toyota Prius, the new model also sits on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform and gets two powertrain options in the UK. Option one is the latest generation 1.8-litre full hybrid engine, which delivers 12bhp, and emits 86g/km of CO2 while returning a claimed 74.3mpg – meaning it will cost you nothing in road tax. Hybrid components have also been made lighter and smaller, aiding toward the C-HR's low centre of gravity.

The same 114bhp 1.2-litre turbo engine that already features in the Auris is also available, and comes mated to either a six-speed manual transmission or a CVT automatic. The CVT option can be specified with front-wheel or four-wheel drive.

A 2.0-litre model with the CVT gearbox will also be built, although it won’t be sold in the UK.

I notice this car has no main grill opening just like the latest Tesla models. As the car is powered by ic engine there is a limit to how far you can go down this road but Toyota stylists obviously want some 'Tesla cool' to be associated with their model. I expect to see more aero front ends appearing on other cars soon.

So on the one hand we have the Audi Q2, whih has no styling, and on the other hand this, which is bonkers. I kind of admire Toyota for making it, but I don't really like it, and I think cars should be designed from the inside out. That's how you get radical designs like the Mini and Citroen DS. This looks like it will be severely compromised for people (space and visibility), and what's the point of that? A brave attempt, but not as pure a design as the new Prius. The Prius looks like it does for aerodynamics and packaging of electric components and people, whereas this just wants to look different. Who's next to try to crack this difficult class?

Agreed. Brave, yes. Successful, no.
More styling than design. For example, the annoying current tendency to articulate wheelarch bulges means that the cabin is being pushed inwards and therefore compromising cabin width.
Also windows are getting smaller and smaller as if all the driver has to do is to rely on cameras. A totally unnecessary complication.

"I notice this car has no main grill opening just like the latest Tesla models. ...."

Actually no wide open grille on new tesla is just like old Mazda, toyotas etc...

If you go back to 80's/90's then all cars had slim lights and low front ends with small grills, in the modern styling era, typified by Audi, merc and virtually everybody else today, the look is oversize lights and grills. If Tesla becomes the next must have item, like i phones, then I would expect other makes to start copying their products and the aero front on the Toyota looks to me like its tying to ape Tesla front styling elements. I don't expect Toyota to be the last.